Mom's new line of diverse emoticons includes same sex couples, brown faces

Updated 9:26 am, Wednesday, July 16, 2014

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

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iDiversicons are currently available via their app in Apple's app store or for Android in GooglePlay.

Click through for a look at some of their unique icons.

iDiversicons are currently available via their app in Apple's app store or for Android in GooglePlay.

Click through for a look at some of their unique icons.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 3 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 4 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 5 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 6 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 7 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 8 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 9 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 10 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 11 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 12 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 13 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 14 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 15 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 16 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 17 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 18 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 19 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 20 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 21 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 22 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 23 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 24 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 25 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 26 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 27 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 28 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 29 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 30 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 31 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 32 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 33 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 34 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 35 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 36 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 37 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 38 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 39 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 40 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 41 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 42 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 43 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

Image 44 of 45

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

iDiversicons says whatever you look like they have an emoji for you. Their new app addresses gender bias, same sex marriage, even dog breed differences.

Photo: IDiversicons.com

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Mom's new line of diverse emoticons includes same sex couples, brown faces

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A Houston area mom laid off from NASA last year has shed her spacial past and reinvented herself with the launch of a range of diverse emoticons.

Instead of the one size fits all yellow smiley, sad, crying or lol-ing faces, her line includes all shades of brown, multicultural clothing, same sex couples, racially blended families and more.

"My daughter came home from college one day and she said, 'wouldn't it be nice for me to send an image that looked like me to my friends?'" said Katrina Parrott, a mom of two from League City, and now app developer.

"I said, "hmm, that might be something we could do."

Parrott didn't waste any time, immediately researching her patent options and hiring an illustrator.

By October 2013 her app was live in Apple's app store, funded by her own money.

"Oh my goodnees, first off I got excited about being an Apple developer," she said, but the newly defined technical wizard said what was more important was that people felt represented by her product.

"One thing we wanted was an app that represented not just African Americans,we wanted one that represented the world," said Parrott. Her own family is African American but "iDiversicons," as they became known, grew to cover much more than that.

"We wanted all people to be able to find an emoji that looked like them," she said.

In addition to different skin colors, her icons show different hair styles, head coverings and even piercings. Biracial and same-sex couples and family groups are shown.

"We even responded to a Wall Street petition for a hot dog emoji," Parrott joked adding, "If you have something you want as an emoji, just let us know."

There are currently a whopping 900 iDiversicons available on their app from the Apple app store and for Android via Google Play. Users must open the app, where they can select up to five iDiversicons. From there, users have the option of sending the icon via text message, email, Facebook or Twitter.

The next step for Parrott is getting iDiversicons integrated as a keyboard option, so users will not have to go to the app each time they use an emoji. She is due to pitch her product to the Unicode technical committee, who make that decision, next month.

Diverse emoticons would be good news for Apple. The tech giant made a statement in response to a year long campaign for more repsentative emojis back in May admitting it was a problem area. High profile stars like singer Miley Cyrus and actor Tahj Mowry have also called for more diversity.